1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cloth suitable for ink-jet textile printing and an ink-jet textile printing method and, in particular, to a cloth suitable for ink-jet textile printing which is mainly composed of cellulosic fibers and which exhibits a high degree of exhaustion and high coloring property when used in the formation of a printed image by ink-jet textile printing, making it possible to obtain a clear and fine pattern, and to an ink-jet textile printing method using such a cloth.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, screen textile printing and roller textile printing are the most common methods of textile printing. A problem with these methods is that they require preparation of a plate, so that they are not suitable for the production of a variety of articles in small quantities. Further, it is hard to quickly adapt these methods to the fashions of the day. In view of this, an electronic textile-printing system requiring no plate making is presently desired. To meet this requirement, a number of textile-printing methods based on ink-jet recording have been proposed, which are designed to address these problems.
The following are examples of the characteristics required of a cloth used in ink-jet textile printing:
(1) Ability to allow the ink to color in sufficient density.
(2) High degree of exhaustion for the ink.
(3) Ability to allow the ink to dry quickly thereon.
(4) Little generation of irregular ink blurring thereon.
(5) Ease with which the cloth is fed within the printing apparatus.
These requirements have typically been satisfied by performing pre-processes on the cloth.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-53492 discloses a kind of cloth having an ink-reception layer, and Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-46589 proposes a cloth impregnated with a reduction preventing agent or an alkaline substance.
Although these pre-processes have proved partly effective with respect to the above requirements, the quality of the printed image after the final process depends on the basic characteristics of the cloth material used. Thus, a satisfactory material cannot be obtained by such pre-processes.
Thus, although the prior-art techniques can satisfy the above requirements to some extent, a cloth suitable for ink-jet textile printing or ink-jet textile printing method has not previously been known which satisfies all the above requirements at the same time and solves the above-mentioned problems, thereby providing an image of the highest quality.